Story - Physical Condition - Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway - 1909

The inspection of this property was made on August 16 and 17 [1909].  The track from Sault Ste. Marie to Faithorn Junction, a distance of 191 miles, is laid with 80 pound steel rail, which was found to be in good condition. 

The branch line from Rapid River to Eben Junction, a distance of 30 miles, is laid with 60 pound rail which was also found to be in fair condition. Tie renewals for the year, as reported, will tie about 150 ties to the mile, which is rather light. 

The track, however, is ill good alignment and in first class condition for the traffic.  The right-of-way fences are built wherever requested and are mostly of barbed wire.  Many crossing signs on the line need renewing.  Frogs and switches were found to be blocked, as required by law.  Motive power and equipment in good repair and well maintained.  Stations are well kept.  Bulletin boards had not been given proper attention in many places. Track was free from weeds but right-of-way along the woods land is grown up with underbrush of several years' growth, which should be cleared up. Wires crossing the tracks were found to be defective in many places.  The company's rules in regard to speed of trains over interlocked crossings are 30 miles per hour for passenger trains and 15 miles per hour for freight trains.  This company has recently purchased the property of the Wisconsin Central, six miles of which is located in Michigan.  The Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway is operated in connection with the Canadian Pacific and that portion of it running through the southern part of upper Michigan forms a part of the trans-continental system of roadway extending across the continent.
 

[From the 1909 Annual Report of the Michigan Railroad Commission, State Library of Michigan.]